Being A Mentor / Teacher

I honestly can’t remember a time when I didn’t feel an innate calling to be a mentor/teacher. From a very young age I was always the one tutoring my peers, leading study groups, making peace amongst my groups of friends, and coaching my pals through rough times. As I aged, my passions stayed the same, what changed was my ability to find a definition for them. This semester has presented me with some serious challenges, as far as deciding my path, and my future as an educator. Though I am certain that the schools are where I belong, I am actively trying to find my exact place within that system. I walked in this door as a future teacher, and I am walking out with much more than I anticipated. Though my core beliefs are ultimately unchanged, I now have a much larger scope, and broader understanding through which to view them. If there is one sure thing in life it is that children are our future, therefore raising them is truly one of the most important jobs in the world. Calderella, Adams, Valentine, and Young (2009) assert that children need positive relationships with adults for healthy development. Due to a shift family systems and social norms, children are experiencing less parental support, and are often discouraged from, and receive fewer opportunities to form natural mentoring relationships with adults. Parents count on us, educators, mentors, and support staff, to provide their children with love, compassion, and a safe place (both physically, and emotionally) while they are in our care. They look to us to teach their children, not only how to read and write, but also to teach them self-respect, self-confidence, and self-trust. They expect us to provide their children with the tools they will need to be successful in life. ...

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...on we can do anything. Where there is a will, there is a way. If we aren’t motivated to better our children, and we set the example for our children, then how can we ever expect them to be motivated to rise above our shortcomings? If we don’t encourage growth it will cease to exist. This world needs the contributions of every race, gender, ethnicity, and cultural group in existence. We need to develop a system that doesn’t result in contributions from only a select few socioeconomic classifications. Although I may never get the chance to design the brand new education system that I feel is necessary, I can take steps toward implementing pieces of it. In this case, any help is better than no help. By getting these school-based mentoring programs into our schools we would be embarking on a journey of self-betterment for our children, and for the future of our country.